A Bump On The Head
by Kalia of Camelot
Summary: Merlin hits his head, and temporarily loses his memory. Bits and pieces come back to him, and he soon remembers all the knights...except Arthur. Obviously, Arthur isn't too happy about this. And as his memories come back to him, Merlin lets a few things slip... Bromance oneshot, no slash. K because someone gets stabbed and I didn't know what rating to give it!


**Hi! This has probably been done before, but I felt like writing today and this is what appeared! Probably set at some point in the three year gap between four and five. First oneshot! No slash unless you really really want it to be there. Would someone let me know if this rating is correct? Thanks! **

Arthur and the knights were out hunting, which of course meant that Merlin was with them.

Merlin couldn't understand this logic, because as Arthur so often pointed out, he was clumsy, and scared off most of the animals within half a mile. It was only after seeing the King's smug smiles on a three day trip a few years ago that it had clicked - Merlin hated hunting, and Arthur knew it, so he insisted that his manservant came along. As a punishment.

So since then, Merlin had taken it upon himself to make the trips as enjoyable as possible, by constantly complaining loudly and twittering on about anything and everything with Gwaine. They had been hunting for hours with little success, mostly due to Merlin's incessant chattering.

"Shut _up _Merlin_," _Arthur commanded, and Merlin was about to retort when he saw that the King had raised his hand and halted his horse. Something was wrong. Merlin pulled on the reigns to stop his steed, but it was a new horse and was not as well disciplined as the trainer had seemed to think. It took him a minute of tugging to get her to stop, by which time the shouting men had started to pour out from the foliage and into their path. This frightened the mare, and she reared, Merlin struggling to hold on.

"Sire, look out!" Leon cried as the bandits swarmed around their horses. The knights all dismounted, unsheathed their swords and started to hack at the enemy, driving them back. They were hideously outnumbered, but the Knights of the Round Table were the finest fighters in the realm, and soon had defeated all but four of the rogues. Their leader, a large, ugly man with squinting eyes as dark as the night stepped forward dangerously.

"Very good," the man rasped. "Oh, very good. My men, my finest men all slaughtered in under five minutes. Impressive." Arthur gripped the hilt of his sword as the man stepped ever closer, until he and Arthur were face to face.

"But I'm afraid I won't be quite so easy to ki-" the man broke off, eyes wide with shock, before he fell to the ground with a gaping hole in his chest from where Arthur's sword had pierced him. The remaining three men looked at each other, then turned and ran into the forest.

"Why do people feel the need to make speeches at times like that?" Gwaine gestured to the fallen leader in disbelief. "I mean, if I wanted to kill you I'd sneak up behind you and stab you with a dagger, maybe throw a knife, or sneak into the palace kitchens and poison your food, or maybe even-"

"Thank you, Gwaine." Arthur interrupted him. "Was anyone injured?" He turned to survey his knights, but they all looked fine. Percival had a nick on his shoulder, and Elyan had a small cut on his arm, but it was nothing serious. The men smiled at each other. Gwaine began to chortle to himself.

"I won't be quite so easy to kill, he was saying. Ha ha!"

Arthur smiled wryly, then said, "The irony was lost on none of us, Gwaine. Now, if no real damage was done we shall continue with our hunt. Merlin, prepare the horses." Arthur wiped his sword on the grass to clean it, then replaced it in its sheath. "We can ride for a good hour or more before heading back to Camelot, I should think. Merlin?"

There was no response, which struck Arthur as very odd. Merlin was never quiet, no matter how hard everyone - Arthur - tried to shut him up. It was ominous.

"Merlin?" Arthur called again, turning and scanning the forest for him. He wasn't there. Merlin, along with his horse, had vanished. Arthur exhaled in frustration.

"Where _is_ that idiot? We'd better sit tight for a few minutes; if we leave now he'll never find us: He's hopeless at tracking. Did anyone see where he went?" The knights all shook their heads.

"I was riding right behind him, Sire. He was having some trouble with the new steed. Perhaps he lost control of her," Leon suggested. Arthur nodded. Merlin wasn't exactly known for his strength.

"Alright. We'll give him ten minutes and then we're leaving and he can find his own way back to Camelot." Decision made, Arthur went to his horse to fetch his water skin, when he heard the frenzied whinnying from a little way off.

He signalled for his men to follow, and they all moved silently through the undergrowth towards the commotion, leaving their own horses tied to trees. They moved stealthily through the foliage, barely making a sound as they followed the hoof prints now clear on the ground. After a minute or so, a large, black horse came into view. It was twisting and rearing, and pawing at the ground in frustration. Merlin's horse.

"Merlin?" Arthur shouted, seeing that the horse was riderless. After a minute, there was a reply.

"Hello?"

Arthur relaxed as he heard Merlin's voice, and he and Leon slowly approached the panicking horse. Leon set about calming the upset creature, while Arthur scanned the area for signs of his manservant.

"Honestly Merlin, you can't even ride a horse. Is there anything you can do?"

There was no immediate reply, and Arthur narrowed his eyes. Normally his idiot of a servant would have quipped something cheeky like "putting up with you," then Arthur would call him an idiot, and Merlin would call Arthur a prat, or a cabbage head or a clotpole, and they would sink into their usual routine of insults.

But the only reply was a weak "Over here." Arthur turned and followed the sound of Merlin's voice to find him on the ground with his back against a broad tree and a very large lump on his forehead.

"What happened?" Arthur asked, incredulous. Only Merlin could get an injury like that when nothing had actually attacked him. The young man looked up at him, and Arthur knew that something was wrong by the lack of spark in his eyes.

"I, uh, fell off the horse, I think. I must've blacked out or something."

"Right," Arthur said at length, not liking the look of that head wound at all. "Well, I suppose we could make camp here for a bit, then head back to Camelot as soon as you - as soon as your horse is ready," he mused. Merlin just looked at him.

"Sorry," he said, his blue eyes full of confusion, "but...who are you?"

Arthur froze.

"Oh hell" He heard Gwaine say somewhere behind him, and for once he completely agreed with the tavern-loving knight. Merlin looked over Arthur's shoulders at the sound of the voice, then his face relaxed a little.

"Gwaine,' he said simply, a smile dawning on his face. Now Arthur was confused.

"Merlin, you don't know who I am?" He asked his friend, but knew the answer instantly when those blue eyes snapped back to him.

"Sorry, no. Should I?" Merlin took in Arthur's clothes, realisation appearing on his face.

"Oh" he said, and Arthur felt relief rush through him like a raging river, only to freeze when Merlin said, "You're a knight. A knight of Camelot." What?! Arthur searched his servant's eyes for any sign of familiarity, but found nothing.

"And...do you know who he is?" Arthur managed to ask, indicating the knight behind him.

"Yeah, that's my friend Gwaine." Merlin smiled quizzically, then struggled to his feet before pushing past Arthur to approach his friend. Arthur didn't move.

_Sorry, no. Should I?_

_That's my friend Gwaine._

_Who are you?_

Arthur swallowed, then turned to see the knights regarding Merlin with the same level of trepidation as he felt. Leon had soothed the horse by now, and began to lead her back in the direction they had come. Merlin looked at him.

"Leon. Your name's Leon, isn't it," he asked, though it was not really a question. Leon nodded and Merlin smiled. "How do I know this? I don't remember ever meeting a knight...actually," Merlin broke off, smile gone now, "I don't remember much at all. You're Leon, you're Gwaine..."

After a minute of looking at the others with his head cocked to the side, he announced, "Percival and Elyan, right? Oh! Elyan, you're Gwen's brother. I remember now." And then Merlin turned back to Arthur, uncertainty in his eyes. "Sorry, friend. I suppose I should know your name too, but there's nothing."

Arthur felt like Percival had punched him in the gut. When he hadn't been wearing any armour. He just stared at Merlin for a minute, dread coiling in his stomach like a venomous snake, before coming to his senses.

"That must've been a some blow to the head," he managed finally, then shook his head sadly. "I'm...I'm Arthur."

"Hi," Merlin replied, almost shyly. "Sorry to be such an inconvenience, but would you mind filling me in on a few things? I've got names and faces, and feelings, but I can't put them together. And I can't remember the last thing I was doing, or anything like that."

The scale of Merlin's memory loss was shocking, but Arthur put on a brave face and began walking back to their horses. "Of course," he said, emotionless. "What do you remember?"

"An old man, white hair. He's wise, and I look up to him, I know that much. Who...?"

"Gaius. The court physician. You live with him."

"Oh yeah," Merlin's smile was dazzling.

"And I remember Gwen, and the Lady Morgana. I like them a lot too, don't I?" He was still smiling, and it only faltered when he caught sight of the knights' expressions.

"You _like_ the Lady Morgana?" Gwaine sounded horrified. Merlin didn't understand, and he blinked in confusion.

"Well, yes. Gwen is...what does Gwen do again? Oh! Handmaiden. She's the Lady Morgana's handmaiden." His smiled again, and nodded to himself as small things came back to him. "She's nice, and she's pretty"

Arthur cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, Merlin? I hate to break it to you but that's my wife you're talking about, and the Lady Morgana isn't exactly -"

"Your wife? Gwen's married?"

Merlin didn't remember that at all. That man, Arthur, was looking at him so weirdly. He looked...hurt, Merlin decided. Upset, and worried too. Merlin could only wonder why. Was it something he had said?

"Ok..." he continued, "there's another girl. Dark hair, pale skin, damaged somehow." The knights looked at one another, confused. Merlin stopped walking, sadness etched onto his face. "I...I loved her," he breathed. Arthur's eyes widened.

"I loved her...her name was Freya. Yes. We didn't have long together, but I don't know why..." He looked around at Gwaine, visibly upset now. "Did she leave? Where did she go?"

"I don't know mate," was the knight's honest reply. "I don't know who you're talking about." They had reached the other horses by then. Merlin's shoulders slumped as he said, "oh" in a very small voice.

Suddenly, he gasped, then looked up with tears in his eyes. "I remember now. She died. She was...she was killed by a prince, I think. But it wasn't her fault." Merlin had his eyes screwed up now, the pain of his past overwhelming him.

"I laid her to rest in a lake. In a little boat."

No one spoke. Arthur was still in shock by what Merlin had revealed. He obviously hadn't made the connection between Arthur and the evil prince in his story, and for that Arthur was grateful. Was it true? Had he killed this Freya, the woman Merlin had loved? Why hadn't this been mentioned before?!

He had so many questions, but Merlin wasn't in a fit state to answer them, so he turned to his men and said, "He needs to be seen to by Gaius. We ride for Camelot immediately." They all nodded, and Leon offered Merlin his horse, he himself swinging up into the saddle of the skittish mare. Merlin gingerly mounted, and nervously spurred on his horse. They rode in silence for a few minutes, before Merlin sat up straighter and said, "my father." Arthur hadn't expected that. He twisted to look at his friend, and Merlin elaborated, "I met my father. It was wonderful."

"Merlin, you never knew your father. You told me so -" he stopped as he saw Merlin shaking his head vigorously.

"No, I knew him. Not for long, though...because...because...argh!" He yelled, suddenly angry. "He died too! He died in my arms! My father! And I couldn't cry because...because..." Merlin's voice faded to nothing, and he whispered, almost to himself, "because no man was worth my tears."

The knights were in silence. The only sound was the continuous clip clop of the horses' hooves on the forest floor.

"Merlin, I - I don't know what to say," he heard Leon behind him. "I'm sorry for your loss - your losses."

"Mate, I didn't know, I'm sorry," Gwaine murmured. Arthur didn't turn around. Merlin's father had died, in his arms? Arthur knew exactly how that felt. But why? Why had Merlin never told him this? He would never have thought that _Merlin_, innocent, clumsy, idiotic _Merlin_ would have any secrets. Clearly he had been wrong.

It was another half hour before Merlin remembered something else.

"Morgana! She..she changed. I remember...her hair and clothes...that hovel...the snake that wouldn't die...so many heads" Arthur was worried now. A snake that wouldn't die? Was Merlin hallucinating now as well?

"She put it in my neck...I was hanging from my wrists...it hurt." Merlin looked totally flabbergasted, Arthur thought. Poor man. Because that had never happened, had it? His brain was just making things up now, surely.

"Agravaine!" Merlin suddenly gasped. "It was him. I got..." he looked down at his chest, holding the reins in one hand as he traced a horizontal line along across his shirt. "A mace. I was hit by a mace," he said slowly. "I don't remember much after that...there was a rock fall, and I was surrounded by men." Arthur froze. He remembered this. He had never gotten it out of Merlin how he had escaped that one. It seemed he was about to find out.

"The rock fall cut me off from someone. Someone important. I got taken to Agravaine, and he was going to kill me, but then the La- but then Morgana stopped him, and then she took me to her hut and tied me up." Merlin seemed just as stupefied as everyone else at this revelation. Could it be true? Arthur wondered to himself, frustrated and upset and hurt all at the same time. But if it was, why hadn't Merlin said anything? It was nonsense, surely. A snake with multiple heads being put in Merlin's neck? Well actually, he wouldn't put it past Morgana...but...

But before he could contemplate further, Merlin was off again. "I remember the great dra-" he stopped, then glanced furtively around at them all. "Never mind."

A few minutes passed.

"But there's one person I don't have a name or a face for," he said slowly. "Just...a feeling. A kind of love, but not romantic or anything like that." He searched the knight's faces as they rode, Arthur still out in front and not turning around.

"More than friends. More than family. I just have this urge to protect them." At this point Merlin looked up at the sky. "But I can't even remember who it is!"

"Come on, mate. Calm down. You're doing well," Gwaine said. Arthur didn't think he had ever heard the knight speak so softly, and so kindly. He still didn't turn around, not daring to hope at who Merlin was describing.

"I knew him - its definitely a him - for a long time. I think... " he paused here, then smiled a bit and continued, "yeah. I still know him. He's important in more ways than one, and he is definitely alive. He..." Merlin's smile grew wider as details began coming back to him. They were nearly at Camelot by now, the great white walls peaking out over the tops of the trees.

"He's a prat"

Arthur felt something lift inside him at those words. He never thought he'd be so happy to be insulted.

With some gentle prodding from the others, Merlin had remembered Ealdor, the poisoned chalice - "I know that person was there...I had to protect him. It was my duty" - and the Lady Katrina, otherwise known as the troll. But he still didn't know who Arthur really was.

Disturbingly, he had also remembered taking a fireball to the chest, at which point Arthur had stopped the ride to check for a scar. Because it couldn't be true. A fireball! But, upon examination there was a circular pink scar across Merlin's middle, along with another, smaller scar on his back.

"A serket" Merlin had shouted, startling the horses and causing the knights to reach for there swords. Once Leon had his mount under control again, Merlin had continued, "I was chained up, alone in the forest, then there were all these serkets..." He had fallen into silence after that, leaving all the knights apart from Percival with mouths open wide in shock. Merlin had been hit by a fireball. Merlin had been chained up and stung by serkets. Merlin had more secrets than Arthur ever would've guessed.

On seeing the remains of the wounds, Arthur had felt fury shoot through him. Someone had done this. Someone had intentionally hurt Merlin, _tortured_ Merlin. And Arthur hadn't even known.

Then Merlin quietly recalled his 'important person' getting shot with an arrow. He had looked upset and bewildered, and so had the knights, for they all knew who Merlin was talking about. When had Arthur got shot?!

Snatches of memory floated back to Merlin as the continued their journey, and finally they reached the gates of Camelot. The people smiled as they passed, and Merlin felt...safe. This was his home, he was sure of it. They rode past a training field on their way to the stables, and Merlin suddenly stopped.

"Here." He said simply, indicating the grass. The knights looked at each other, but a thrill of hope went through Arthur. He knew why Merlin had stopped here, but did the manservant?

It seemed so.

"We met here. He was...being a prat. And I told him so. He said he'd have me thrown in the stocks because..."

Merlin gasped, then spun on his heel to look at Arthur.

"You!" He said. "You're my important person. Arthur," he said, as if the name felt familiar. "The once and future king. The other side of the coin." Arthur dismounted, and approached carefully.

"Do you remember it all now?" He asked, not daring to hope that he'd got Merlin back so easily.

"No...no, I don't understand." Merlin swallowed, looking at Arthur in utter confusion.

"Why you? You were bullying...I don't..." He screwed his eyes shut, then looked at Arthur with eyes filled with pain.

"My head," he muttered, then stumbled towards Arthur and leaned on him for support.

"My head hurts."

And that was when he fainted.

*M*

Merlin woke up in his room with a pounding headache, and two blurry faces looming down from above him.

"Gaius?" He asked weakly, and one of the blobs said something incomprehensible. Merlin blinked, and things came into focus a bit more.

"Arthur? What are you doing here? Ugh, my head kills...I am never letting Gwaine drag me to the tavern again...what happened?"

"Merlin, what do you remember?" The King demanded urgently.

"Um...we were riding in the woods? And that flipping horse freaked out and bolted...oh!" His hands went to the lump on his forehead. "Ow. But that still doesn't explain why you're here at my bedside: worried about me, were you Sire?" He grinned, headache receding now, and was surprised at Arthur's grin as he turned to Gaius and said, "Merlin's back."

"Back?" He asked in confusion, then he put it together in his head. "Oh... when I hit my head...oh."

"Yeah," said Arthur quietly. The room was still for a moment.

Then Merlin grinned and said "Don't worry Sire, you can't get rid of me that easily!"

Arthur chuckled, then reached over and ruffled his hair.

"It was nice to know you think so highly of me, _Mer_lin," he teased, and Merlin groaned as he remembered what he had said.

"As I recall sire, I couldn't even remember your name..."

A few days later, when Merlin was better, he was going to have some serious explaining to do, but for the moment, he and Arthur joked until Gaius presented his ward with a drink that sent him instantly to sleep. Arthur smiled, then left to go train his knights. After all, when Merlin was up to it, he was going to need lots of armour to polish as a punishment for putting Arthur through this whole ordeal.

_'More than friends. More than family.'_

That sounded about right to him.


End file.
